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Buyer's guide: external hard disks

By James Morris

External hard disks aren’t just about expanding the storage of your workstation. They could also be about transferring files which are too large to move over a network. Maxtor’s OneTouch 4 Mini can fit into your pocket, yet it has a 160GB capacity. The USB connection doubles up for power, so you won’t need a separate supply.

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External hard disks aren’t just about expanding the storage of your workstation. They could also be about transferring files which are too large to move over a network. Maxtor’s OneTouch 4 Mini can fit into your pocket, yet it has a 160GB capacity. The USB connection doubles up for power, so you won’t need a separate supply.

At £162, the MyBook Studio Edition is not cheap for a desktop external drive. But it incorporates a whopping 1TB capacity, and offers comprehensive connection options. If you’re in need of a big fix of storage, look no further.

This unassuming little box packs 500GB of storage. As well as a USB, it also offers eSATA, the external version of the SATA system internal hard disks now used for connection. At £66 exc VAT, you get a lot of storage for your money.

Using an Ethernet connection and built-in file-serving software, the ReadyNAS can share its contents across a network directly. But remember the £450 price is for the enclosure only – you will need to add your own 3.5in SATA drives.

Iomega’s 2TB Power Pro provides 2TB of storage. Spanned across four 500GB disks, you can choose from three different RAID arrangements, for faster performance or to protect your data from drive failure. At £508, it’s not cheap, but its abilities are better than average.

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